Debriefing: Doodles and Distractions
by Emery Saks
Summary: Angie gets bored during a thunderstorm one evening at home and doodles while Peggy reviews files for work. But she never imagined the professional consequences her harmless drawings might cause Peggy when a doodle gets mixed up with Peggy's debriefing notes.
1. Doodles

Outside the large mansion, the wind howled as raindrops pelted the brick exterior and glass windows, hitting the panes and trickling down to the ledges below. Inside the spacious living room, however, all was quiet, save the soft strains of jazz wafting from a radio in the corner.

Angie Martinelli shifted on the couch, instinctively snuggling closer to the warmth of the woman she'd been living with for the past two years, before returning her attention to the script in her hand. She'd gotten a sizeable role in _Small Wonder_, a new musical slated to open mid-September, and with previews only a few weeks away, she was going over last-minute rewrites and changes, committing the new lines to memory and humming the score as she did so.

A soft smile lifted the corners of her mouth when, like clockwork, Peggy adjusted to Angie's new position, shuffling the papers in her hand and absentmindedly dropping a kiss on the top of Angie's head which was now nestled against her shoulder.

"Pegs?"

"Hmmm?"

"What's got you so focused tonight?"

Peggy fiddled with the reading glasses that kept slipping down her nose and glanced over. "I'm reviewing some schematics for the briefing tomorrow. Nothing terribly exciting, I'm afraid, but necessary nonetheless."

"Sounds _riveting_," she giggled, borrowing one of Peggy's favorite terms.

"Indeed," she replied with a non-committal hum.

"Anything I should know about?" Angie asked. It wasn't as if Peggy came home every night and dished about government secrets, but every so often, Angie would ask and Peggy would share.

"Terribly sorry, darling, I'm really not at liberty to discuss it, and I need to concentrate on these for just a little while longer."

So sharing was out.

"How much longer?"

Peggy's mouth curved into a smile, but she didn't take her gaze away from the papers. "A half hour, at most, provided there are no more distractions."

In response, Angie leaned up and planted a soft kiss against the side of Peggy's neck. "Define distractions."

"Angie…"

"Peggy," she echoed, her hand creeping beneath the blanket to rest upon the older woman's thigh before giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Someone's not playing fair." The response was uttered in a low voice as Peggy's eyes slowly slid closed, the papers in her hand dropping a few inches.

Angie's lips trailed downward. "I thought you like it when I don't play fair."

Peggy swallowed thickly – a fact that didn't escape Angie's notice – but said nothing. If she really wanted to, Angie could easily distract her lover from the task at hand, but she also knew how seriously Peggy took her position as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. It had been little over a year since Howard Stark had approached the former SSR agent with the idea of overseeing the government's newest agency, and Peggy had leapt at the opportunity to build an organization from the ground up, hand picking her new team from various organizations scattered throughout the government and even bringing a few of her SSR colleagues – such as Daniel Sousa – along with her.

Peggy valued the men who worked for her, and they had experienced her leadership both at the office and in the field enough to respect her as Director. But Angie knew Peggy still occasionally fielded sexist comments from those outside S.H.I.E.L.D. causing the woman to diligently prepare for every briefing as if it were an invasion into Axis-controlled territory. And when it came down to it, if Angie had to choose between a little canoodling with her favorite gal and allowing said gal the time needed to feel confident in her work, Angie would always choose the latter.

"Oh all right, English. I'll play nice for now," she chuckled, settling back down against the couch. "Still, you can't blame a girl for trying.

Peggy let out a sigh that sounded both relieved and disappointed and returned her gaze to the papers in her hand. Angie contemplated returning to her script, but truth be told, she was a little too wound up now to give it the attention it deserved.

Instead, she directed her focus to a stack of thin, clear plastic-like sheets of paper lay by Peggy's side – viewgraph sheets, Peg had called them. Angie had been fascinated when Peggy had first brought them home and explained that by using a special marker pen, a person could write on the sheets and then project the information on a screen. Even better, when the information was no longer needed, the sheets could simply be wiped clean and be reused at a later date. Since the first time her partner brought them home, Angie never wasted an opportunity to toy with the technology.

Leaning over, she casually sneaked a clear sheet from the stack and palmed Peggy's extra marker pen, before sitting back against the arm of the couch.

"You do realize I saw that," Peggy informed her, gaze never wavering from her annotations.

Angie shrugged. "You'd be an awfully lousy spy if you hadn't." She looked over for a response, but Peggy was once again engrossed in her notes, tapping the marker against her teeth and muttering about diagrams under her breath.

Pen in hand, Angie returned her attention to the sheet and began to doodle, sketching out a tiny dog with a collar and bowler hat, trailing random hearts along the edge of the paper and drawing angles and lines across the top of the page. She'd been doodling for a good fifteen minutes before she even realized her scrawls and scribbles had etched out a passable New York City skyline. She paused in surprise and looked over toward Peggy, eager to relay her newfound talent, but the words died on her lips when her gaze fell upon her girlfriend.

Peggy had the tip of the marker she'd been writing with firmly wedged between her teeth, red lips pursed, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she lifted a page above her head and stared at the schematic she'd just drawn.

Angie's lips split into a wide grin. For all her poise and British reserve, Peggy Carter could be utterly adorable, and Angie would be the first to admit she was completely smitten. She watched her partner for a few moments, warm emotion flooding through her as Peggy continued to study the schematic.

"You're staring."

Angie blushed and glanced down at the paper in lap. "Well, if someone wasn't being all charming with that pen hanging out of her mouth, I wouldn't stare."

Peggy bit down on her lower lip, and Angie swore she detected a faint trace of pink on the cheekbones she'd spent so many nights and lazy afternoons worshipping. "Ten more minutes, darling," she promised. "And then I'm all yours."

"I thought you already were," Angie fired back cheekily.

"I believe the sentiment is mutual, is it not?" The retort was uttered with complete confidence, and Angie couldn't argue with the observation. Nor did she want to. For all her teasing bravado, sometimes Angie still couldn't believe she'd managed to land someone like Peggy Carter. But it certainly helped to hear Peggy voice the same reaction from time to time in regards to her.

She glanced back down at her drawing again. Without conscious thought, she penned "I love you, English," across the center of the sheet in her flowing handwriting and then wrote the declaration over and over again across the page until no room remained. It might be silly, but it felt wonderful to declare her love for the woman sitting next to her, even if it was just writing that only she, and maybe Peggy, would read.

Laying the sheet down on the cushion between them, Angie reached down and retrieved her script. She probably wouldn't retain much at this point, not when she was thinking about all the wonderful things she planned on doing to Peggy once that ten minutes expired, but she figured she should at least try to look occupied, lest she be caught mooning again.

The room grew quiet once more for a few minutes as the two women studied their respective work, but the peace was short lived when a loud peal of thunder, accompanied a bright flash of lightning echoed through the room, shaking the floor, startling both women. Angie immediately let out a surprised shriek which, in turn, caused Peggy to jump, papers falling from her lap and hands and scattering across the floor. The two women stared at each other, rather sheepishly, for a moment before breaking into laughter.

"Honestly, Angie," Peggy chuckled, shaking her head. "A grown woman shrieking like a little child."

Angie playfully scowled and stuck her tongue between her teeth. "It was _loud_, Pegs. What'd you expect me to do?"

Peggy grinned, leaning down to gather up the papers before stuffing them into her work bag. "Obviously not that!"

"Yeah, well…" Angie had the good grace to blush. "Geez, for a spy, you sure are jumpy."

"Director, darling, and previously Agent," Peggy corrected her.

"Whatever," Angie muttered, crossing her arms. "Still jumpy."

Peggy rolled her eyes. "A few moments ago I was charming. What happened?"

Angie wrinkled her nose. "Well that was before Miss Charming decided to become Miss Chastising."

"Ah, I see," Peggy smirked and shifted slightly closer to Angie letting her hand flutter down until it rested atop the smaller woman's hand. "I take it this means you're not interested in pursuing our earlier conversation?"

Angie's stomach gave a delicious flop and she scooted a few inches to her left, turning her hand over so her fingers could lace with Peggy's. "I didn't say that." Closing the distance between them, Angie leaned into Peggy, her lips coming to rest along the underside of her jaw. "Matter of fact," she murmured, "I'd be real interested in resuming our talk about distractions."

Peggy sighed when Angie's warm mouth began to slowly trail down her neck and when her teeth found the sensitive hollow near Peggy's collarbone, the former Agent let out a low moan.

"I think we should take this conversation to our bedroom, darling."

Angie raised her eyes to meet Peggy's and gave her an impish grin. "Entirely too far away, English…"


	2. Distractions

Chapter 2: Declarations

The low hum of the projector buzzed throughout the darkened conference room. Agents sat at tables, listening as Peggy explained the information illuminated on the screen situated near the front of the room.

She had spent the last 40 minutes briefing her agents on the latest threats to American soil and its global territories. Save for the occasional sounds of scratching pens as men jotted down various notes, the room had been surprisingly quiet. Usually, she could expect a few questions here and there, but today, it appeared her men were content to let her speak without interruption. She made a mental note to schedule the subsequent briefing _before_ lunch next time.

Reaching down, she retrieved the next sheet of paper in the stack by her waist and placed it on the viewgraph, not even pausing to look at the screen as she continued speaking.

She'd just begun detailing the alternate power source for the new schematic on the screen when several low guffaws from the back of the room reached her ears. She looked up, brows furrowing in confusion when the sound was joined by a few of her men uncomfortably clearing their throats. When she heard Sousa coughing – trying to cover up what suspiciously sounded like laughter – she felt well and truly lost and a trifle cross.

"Agent Sousa, is there something you'd like to share with me?" she asked somewhat testily. Of all her staff, she and Daniel had been working together the longest, and he was the last person she'd expect to disrupt her during a presentation.

The agent in question bit his lower lip and shook his head, instead pointing his pen at the screen behind her, his sides shaking as he did so.

When Peggy turned to follow his gaze, she felt her heart plummet to her stomach as an embarrassed heat fanned out across her face.

The screen was supposed to contain a schematic of the power cell she'd so diligently worked on at great length the night before, but instead, there – on display in front of all her subordinates – was a rather smashing New York City skyline, a dog wearing a bowler hat and the elegant and familiar handwriting of one Angie Martinelli – which Peggy had come to know from the many checks at the L&amp;L and grocery lists at home – shamelessly declaring her devotion for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director.

Hand darting out, Peggy quickly snatched the paper from the screen as if it were on fire and threw it back onto the stack beside the machine, cheeks burning with humiliation. She found herself suddenly quite thankful the blinds in the room had been pulled shut and the overhead lights switched off. At least no one could see the crimson flames covering her face.

A nervous titter echoed throughout room. It was followed by a high-pitched anxious laugh that sputtered out quickly when Peggy's gaze landed on the poor soul who'd been unfortunate enough to utter it. The man sitting next to the offending agent scooted his chair a few inches away, apparently hoping to distance himself – physically and figuratively – from the fella who obviously had a death wish.

Peggy scowled and both men shrunk lower into their seats, heads ducking down to stare at the table. She waited until the room was entirely silent again before pointedly clearing her throat and turning her attention back to the screen.

Poise regained, she reached down to retrieve another sheet, carefully scanning it this time before placing it on the glass. A hand-drawn schematic appeared on the screen on the screen behind her, and she glanced at it once before turning back to face her agents.

"As I was saying, the power cell for this particular model contains two hydro-electric casings and a housing module made from a titanium alloy..."

As she continued to speak, Peggy was relieved to feel some modicum of normalcy returning to the room and a little of the awkward tension slowly dissipate.

When all the sheets were finally shown – each having received careful scrutiny before being placed on the glass screen – Peggy nodded to Sousa to turn the lights back on. As illumination flooded the room, she flicked the viewgraph off, took a deep breath and looked up to face the group of men sitting before her.

"Are there any questions, gentlemen?"

Her steely gaze danced across the face of each agent in the room, silently daring them to say something – anything – but each man simply shook his head no in response before lowering their eyes to look at the folder in their hands.

"Excellent," Peggy said crisply. "I expect reports from each department head before we leave today."

The men groaned – a good sign that things were returning to normal – and nodded their agreement as they stood and stretched.

"Oh, and gentlemen?" Peggy called out before they could move any further.

They all looked at her nervously.

"Unless you fancy an extended assignment at our Artic research facility, not one word will be uttered about what happened here today. Is that understood?"

Every head bounced in agreement. "Yes, ma'am!"

"Very good." She nodded curtly. "Dismissed."

She watched as they quickly filed out the door, doing their best to avoid her gaze as they did so. Sousa stayed behind, still sitting in his chair. His eyes lit up with laughter and the corner of his mouth curved up in a small smile when she finally turned to look at him.

"Not one word, Daniel," Peggy warned as she gathered her things.

"I wouldn't dream of it, ma'am," he assured her.

"Excellent."

He stood and started toward the door, but stopped just as he reached the threshold. "Oh! I've been meaning to ask," he told her, a sly grin working its way across his face, "Did Angie get the part in the new play?"

Peggy gritted her teeth and gave him a forced smile. "You know she did, Daniel. You attended the celebration dinner at Sardi's."

Daniel laughed. "Oh that's right! I did!" he winked at her. "Well that's just great. Give her my congratulations again, won't you?"

"I'll be sure to do that, Daniel," Peggy assured him, her words dripping with false sincerity. She watched him exit the room before muttering, "Right after I give her a piece of my mind..."


End file.
